First Responder Bowl: Utah State vs Memphis 12/27/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Utah State Aggies and Memphis Tigers clash Tuesday in the college football First Responder Bowl from Gerald G. Ford Stadium. Memphis finished off the regular season at 6-6 overall. The Tigers took a close loss to SMU in their last game. As for Utah State, they’re 6-6 as well and coming off a loss to Boise State. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Memphis managed to win four of their first six games this year. The victories in that time came courtesy of Navy, Arkansas State, North Texas and Temple. The Tigers managed a 2-4 stretch to close out the regular season however, beating only Tulsa and North Alabama. 

In the SMU matchup back on November 26, Memphis went into halftime with a 17-14 edge. The Tigers were outscored 20-14 in the second half for a 34-31 loss. Seth Henigan posted 287 pass yards with a TD and a pick. Jevyon Ducker added 81 rush yards. 

Over on the Utah State side, their season began on a 2-4 run with losses to Alabama, Weber State, UNLV and BYU. The Aggies picked it up with a 4-2 run at the end of the season, beating Colorado State, New Mexico, Hawaii and San Jose State. 

Back on November 25 against Boise State, Utah State gave up 21 points in the second quarter. The Aggies couldn’t catch back up in a 42-23 defeat. Quarterback Cooper Legas put up 306 yards with one TD and two interceptions, while Terrell Vaughn caught eight balls for 148 yards and a TD. 

Memphis is 2-7 ATS in their last nine after an ATS win and 1-4 ATS in their last five non-conference games. The Tigers are 1-4 ATS in their last five neutral-site games and 2-9 ATS in their last 11 in December. 

Meanwhile, the Aggies are 1-4 ATS in their last five after giving up more than 40 points in their previous game. The under is 8-1 in Utah State’s last nine bowl games. 

PICK: I’ll probably stay with Memphis. It may be close, though. The Tigers performed pretty well against a comparable SMU team in their last outing, posting 439 total yards (287 passing), 27 first downs and a solid 11-of-17 on third-down plays. Memphis has been scoring well this season; they’ve hit 23 or more points in every game. 

As for Utah State, they didn’t fare so well against a good Boise State team in their last outing. The Aggies did manage 468 total yards, however. Utah State has 23 or more points in four straight games but I don’t think they’ll keep pace in this one for too long.